Silver Lining
by AvengerGirl95
Summary: In which the world was invaded by a strong force known as The Conqueror. Jason Todd was among the tributes chosen to participate in a fight to the death. How will the Bat Family react realising that they might just lose one of their own again?
1. Prologue

**An idea sorta popped into my head, I figured I should just write it. I don't own Batman and Hunger Games.**

**English is not my mother tongue, so pardon me if I make any mistake. If the characters seem OOC to you, just point it out. I don't really read comics too so excuse me too if I made a mistake writing the character's backstory.**

**I'd appreciate any advice or comments.**

**Thanks!**

* * *

"Why?"

It was a simple question, really. But when Jason Todd opened his mouth to answer, nothing came out. Or maybe he just didn't want to find out the reason himself. As far as he knew, he hated the Demon Spawn. On more than one occasion had they clashed and Jason even shot him once— one thing that he could never forget. He hurt a kid. Talia's son.

_He's family, _Jason almost said that when the realization hit him and spread like a disease. He's family. No matter how hard he tried to severe his ties with the so-called Bat Family, he couldn't. Bruce would always be the father in his eyes. Dick would be the annoying big brother he's jealous of. Tim, Jason didn't know the kid very well. And Damian, well, Damian was his psychotic little brother.

At first, Jason thought it was more of an instinct because it didn't matter whether Damian was trained by the League of Assassin or how precocious he acted. He was only ten years old. And that, in Jason's book was a child. But that wasn't the only reason, was it? He was Bruce's son as well.

But Jason's not going to admit that, so he replied, "Because I'm a lost cause."

"No, you're not!" Roy said angrily, then he took a few calming breaths. "Jay, you're far from a lost cause. You're…you're a hero."

"Thank you for saying that," Jason gave Roy a weak smile. "But no. No, I'm not."

"You are," Roy was quick to intercept. "You're a hero, Jason"—Roy looked down as his expression turned somber—"You were there for me. You're a hero… and a good friend. The best friend someone like me could ever have."

"Enough of the chick flick moment, Harper." Jason said, though deep down he appreciated what Roy said. In fact, Roy knew that because Jason gave him a smile. Weak, but it was there. "I don't intend to lose. I ain't that easy to get rid of, you know?" His nails were digging painfully to his palm, something that Jason didn't even realize doing. "I dug my way out from the grave, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Roy didn't say anything if he noticed Jason's knuckles had turned white. "Jason Todd, The Defeater of Death. Have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"It sure does." Jason chuckled, before he was pulled into a tight hug. Jason tensed at first before returning the hug. "Go talk to your old man, yeah? So you won't be alone now that I'm not here to accompany your sorry ass."

"You're such an ass, Jay. But yeah, sure, I'll try talking to him."

Then Roy left, and Jason was left alone again, suddenly wishing for cigarettes that would surely soothe him from a wave of anxiety that was beginning to drown him. He let out a dry laughter at the sight of the expensive pack of cigarette that was lying on top of the table all along. What was this? Some kind of sick luxury he was given the fight to the death began?

Like he even cared about it anymore. Jason ripped the packaging open and lit one. Smoking was a nasty habit he could never completely discard. Even when he was a small boy in Crime Alley, smoking was the one thing that helped him cope. At midnight, Jason would sneak out a few times just to have a smoke. The memory of Willis Todd beating him down, Catherine Todd slipping further and further away from him everyday. It all went away as the smoke he exhaled faded into the night.

It always worked back then. So why didn't it now?


	2. Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

**So here's chapter one. Anyway this isn't a crossover with the Hunger Games. I'm just using the concept of it hence the disclaimer. **

**Anyway I don't really like how I write the prologue so I just might rewrite it later. And if you spotted any error or typo or something that doesn't seem right don't hesitate to tell me! **

**Thanks, I hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

Jason thought that there was nothing else in this world that could surprise him anymore. Nothing could be worse than being awakened from eternal sleep only to return to the world of living with a soul as dark as him. He was full of hatred, rage and vengeance.

It rendered him speechless of how easy the strongest man on earth was brought down. Just with a snap of fingers, The Conqueror had managed to weaken Superman like a Kryptonite could. Superman was the first to be thrown into prison. Soon after the other big heroes followed. Even Batman himself.

He was still angry with Bruce but when the word of his capture reached Jason, it still struck him pretty hard.

It was frightening how easily The Conqueror tracked down metas. Like a drop of blood to a great white shark, The Conqueror could detect even the slightest usage of powers. From what he observed, it took The Conqueror more time to track down the ones without powers but he still managed to track them down. He should have known he wouldn't last long before being tracked down too, especially with his reputation as a Crime Lord.

So when Jason opened his door, just about to move to another safe house of his, he shouldn't have been surprised when he came face to face with The Conqueror himself.

Now he understood why everyone could be caught so easily. His body felt as if he was on fire. His blood felt like hot scorching lava burning his every vein. The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was a terrible scream.

Roy was there sitting next to him when Jason woke up, bare of any mask. Roy looked exhausted but the relief was evident. "Hey," Roy said. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Jason said, though he still winced at the slightest movement. "What happened? Where are we?"

"Blackgate," Roy paused for a while. "Jay, what happened back there? What did he do to you?"

"Something I see fit to him," Both men turned to look at the speaker. The Conqueror stood a few feet away from their cell. Jason took the chance to observe him. He looked like he was in his mid forties, his body as strong and build as The Man of Steel. His posture as careful and alert as Batman. All in all, he was powerful, but Jason still didn't think this one man could bring all of them down easily. "I boiled your blood. Not enough to kill you but enough to bring extreme pain."

"You're sick," Roy gritted his teeth. "What exactly are you up to?"

"What are you?" Jason asked, tilting his head to the side like a curious child.

The Conqueror smiled at the question. "What I am? Who I am? Is that what you want to know? I am The Creator. I am The Conqueror. I am The Destroyer. I am God."

"You're no difference those sickos who have been playing God," Roy scoffed.

"Of which I don't appreciate," he said calmly. "I don't grant you humans intelligence for you to misuse and abuse it. That's why I am here, to punish you all." His eyes flickered to Jason as he said the next sentence, to the white streak on his raven hair. "I suppose it's not your fault that you are here now, Jason Peter Todd. Your existence expired a long time ago. You are living on a borrowed time already."

"Hey, he's not the only one who came back from the dead!" Roy was quick to rebut that claim. After all, Superman and Green Arrow also came back from the dead.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I intend to fix everything."

"And how exactly are you gonna do that?" Jason challenged boldly. "Destroy everything and create a new world?"

"Jay!" Roy looked horrified at this.

"Exactly," The Conqueror replied, completely ignoring Roy. "That's been my plan all along."

"Then why bother gathering all of us here?"

"You'll find out," he let out a chuckle that sent tingles through Jason's spine. "Come to the main hall, everybody's been waiting for you long enough."

It's been a while since the last time Bruce saw Jason. He had convinced himself that it didn't change anything when Jason came back and began to enforce his own brand of justice. His second son had died a good soldier.

Dick, Tim and Damian were all with him when he woke up. Bruce found himself looking around for Jason when he didn't spot him anywhere. He had wished that the fact Jason wasn't here with them meant he was out somewhere and safe. But that was just wishful thinking; The Conqueror had let them watch while he went to capture Jason. He let them watch while he made Jason screamed in pain.

The sound of footsteps alerted him of the presence of the one who claimed to be God. He sent a quick glance in Bruce's direction and nod lightly toward the door behind. A gesture caught not only by him but also everyone else.

He knew instantly what that meant. Jason was there, at the hall entrance with Roy Harper beside him. It was more of a father's instinct that his eyes immediately scanned Jason's body for any injury. Jason didn't look like he had any external injury, but his posture said otherwise. He appeared to be in pain, his skin pallid and he was sweating bullets. He seemed skinnier too, leaner than the first time Bruce saw him after he came back. Without the mask he always wore to conceal his face, Jason seemed so young. His ruffled hair and the white streak even accentuated that fact. It made him looked like a teenager in the middle of his rebellion phase.

Jason didn't appear to pay any attention to any of them; he quietly went to the empty side of hall and leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor.

"Jay!" that was Dick, before he rushed toward his brother and began to fuss over him.

Bruce wanted to go there too. His body screamed to go there only to have his brain objected to it. He stood rooted to the grown as if his feet were stuck. He was vulnerable without his cowl and he couldn't afford to look weak in front of others.

"Stop nagging me. I'm fine, Dickiebird." He heard Jason said, lightly shoving Dick away.

"Now that the final player's here," The Conqueror cut off Dick's chance to response. He sat there on a throne chair and directed his attention to Jason. "To answer your question from before, son, I gathered you here because I wanted to give you a chance."

"What chance? What are you talking about?" That was Superman, voicing the question was in everyone's mind.

"Jason there," The Conqueror gestured toward the young man. "Asked me a question earlier. If I wanted to fix this wretched universe then why would I bother gathering you all here? My answer is because I want to give you a chance."

"What do you want us to do?" Superman asked.

"From what I observed, you humans love violence, do you not? I am willing to let you do that. I consider it an entertainment but you can consider it the repercussion of your actions." The silence was deafening, everyone was pondering what could he possibly meant before realization hit Bruce like a ton of bricks. He couldn't possibly meant… "I want you to face your fears. I want you to fight to fight to your very last breath. I want you to play in the fight to the death."

"What kind of sadistic god are you?" Green Arrow yelled angrily. "You want us to kill each other for your entertainment? Thanks, but no thanks."

"I'm not giving you any choice," if all Conqueror looked amused than angry. "You will watch them anyway. Of course our dear villains are going to participate as well. How can you face your greatest fears without them?"

A roar of objections filled the room. Jason couldn't even decide which reaction should he display until The Conquerors picked the names. He couldn't care less about the others, just as long as those he considered friends and… family weren't picked. But of course luck had never been on his side, his body froze as The Conqueror announced the final name he chose, "Damian Wayne."

* * *

**I haven't decided who else will participate or what the challenges will be, if you have any ideas you are welcome to suggest it to me! **


	3. Chapter 2: The Prisoners

**So, I finished chapter two. Here's hoping that you'll like this as well. Sorry it's short though. **

* * *

Ah, it's always his big mouth that got him into trouble, wasn't it? Not that he believed in God or anything but he was pretty sure insulting one was just looking for more troubles —one that had just literally boiled his blood, nonetheless.

Regardless, it seemed that coming back from the dead had screwed with his self-preservation sense because Jason couldn't find the will to stop the obscenities that kept coming from his mouth. "Fuck you, old man. You're such a fucking hypocrite. You preached about peace?" Dick pulled at his shoulder, but Jason shrugged the offending hand. "You're sending a kid down to your bloody battlefield to fight _super_villains?"

Of course the little Demon Spawn had to deny it, shouting. "I am no child, Todd!"

"Jason, that's enough," Bruce said with a commanding tone. Jason didn't even send a glance toward their direction.

"I am not changing my mind," The Conqueror waved his hand absentmindedly, before giving Jason a smile again—a smile Jason was beginning to hate. "Unless you're volunteering?"

"Jay—" Roy and Dick began at the same time.

"Gladly," Jason snarled.

"Now, now kid," Green Arrow started. "Don't go all reckless—"

"Why not?" Jason tilted his head at the question. Jason knew about Green Arrow, but he'd had also heard about the man behind the mask, Oliver Queen from Roy before. He was definitely more emotional compared to Bruce, but nobody could beat Bruce when it came to being devoid of any emotion. "I'm not even supposed to be alive. I don't see any problem with it."

"Don't talk like that," Roy snapped from beside him.

"You heard him say it, Roy. _My existence expired a long time ago,_" Jason gestured to The Conqueror.

"But—"

"Enough with the jabbering," The Conqueror said. "That settles it then. I am even willing to change the rules for you, _boy, _and the powers. Just a game of survival between you, humans."

"You consider this a _game?_ You're playing with out lives!" Jason heard someone demanded.

"Sacrifices have to be made," The Conqueror said like it was the normal answer. "Would you prefer I go with my original plan?" The tension was palpable. Frustration, rage, and denial were mixed emotion displayed, though nobody opened their mouths to object. Then he proceeded to announce the new names. He still picked kids but none of the other bats was picked. Jason recognized a few names The Conqueror called. Wally West, he was Dick's best friend, wasn't he? Billy Batson, a ten-year-old kid who was actually Captain Marvel? Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern and it went on until Jason's name was called.

Nope, Jason didn't really care about the heroes, he wasn't on good terms with them anyway. He was more focused on the villains. Two-face, his father's murderer. The Joker, his murderer and Talia al-Ghul, the woman who had been more a mother to him than his own had been. The Joker would die by his hand, Jason decided. He had no doubt Talia would be able to fend for herself but Jason made a mental note to not letting anyone lay a single hand on her.

"My game will start when I deem you are all in your prime condition. I will let you bring one weapon of your choice. You can also take something meaningful with you as your fate are, after all still questionable. You can make whatever decision you want but make no mistake you will end each other in the end. If you don't, well… Let's just say you don't have a choice. Do whatever you desire to do until it starts. And that is all for now."

Jason's eyes glanced to Bruce after The Conqueror vanished into thin air. Bruce was still just standing there —facing the direction where The Conqueror had been —with a blank look on his face. Something churned in the pit of Jason's stomach, a feeling he couldn't decipher. From the peripheral of his eyes, he could even see Dick, clearly confused and tormented to go to his best friend or stayed beside his estranged brother.

Dick turned around and opened his mouth to say something, but Jason stormed outside in a few quick steps, suddenly having the strength to. Even hearing the Joker's name sent a surge of uncontrollable rage through his body. He still had nightmare about the cacophony of his bones breaking and Joker's awful laughter.

Dick sighed at the undeterred question from his youngest brother. Damian had marched right to him and demanded to know the reason Jason was being stupid. "Why, Grayson? Tell me why he was being foolhardy? The insolent god did not even call upon his name!"

"Because he's family, Little D. Family sticks together," Dick said, hoping the answer would be sufficient to calm the kid. Though giving it a second thought, Jason did react after he heard Damian's name, didn't he? Jason gave a devil-may-care attitude when the others' names were called but he objected when Damian's was called.

"Todd had tried to kill us more than one time!"

"He's just angry, Damian. He's angry and bitter and he's in a bad place right now but Jason has always been family." Dick said, regretting to the fact that he hadn't try to reach out to him when he had the chance. Jason was just a street kid that hid his lonely vulnerable self behind the tough guy image he built. Now? In addition to his mask, Jason had become detached. He was becoming emotionless. Unlike Bruce who hid his emotion well, Jason seemed to have lost most of them but rage and vengeance. Those two were a very bad combination.

"Your answer is incomprehensible."

"Because that's who he really is," Dick had almost forgotten Roy was there until he spoke. "However twisted you think he is, Jason has always been a protector. A savior. He saved me when you" —Dick flinched at the accusatory tone— "abandoned me. You and Ollie. Everyone."

Then Roy left in haste. No doubt he didn't want to be in the same room as Dick and Ollie at the same time. It hurt to remember that Roy had been his best friend once when now Roy was Jason's friend. The friendship crumbled like a pile of bricks into useless debris.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Dick moved to find Wally, laying a hand on Damian's shoulder when his youngest brother just glared at the ground with fists clenched at his side.

"No powers! God, Dick what's a speedster gonna do without his speed?" Wally was rambling when Dick approached, immediately noticing him. His incoherent blabbering was still fast but as he was as powerless as everyone else it was fathomable.

Barry Allen, Wally's uncle and the flash looked so anguished. Dick noticed the strong grip at Wally's arm, something Dick had sometimes found himself envying. Barry was not afraid to show the world that his nephew meant the world to him. And the fact that his best friend, Hal was also going, Dick could understand Barry. In the end, they might even have to… kill each other.

"Make an alliance, Wally. You, Hal, and the others." Batman suddenly appeared. Dick almost flinched in surprise. Almost.

"That's what I said too, Bruce. But you heard the big man. They won't have a choice in the end to… you know."

"Barry, you need to calm down," Hal piped from beside him. "Barry you're gonna vibrate through the floor. Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down," Dick had never thought he would see the day Barry Allen would raise his voice. "Hal, you're going too. You and Wally and I can't even do a single thing!"

"Barry, we'll make an alliance. We won't kill," Hal reassured.

"You won't have a choice, Hal. Didn't you hear what the man said? _You won't have a choice_." Dick could only watch in silence at that, not knowing what else to say. Everyone else seemed to be in the same state of distress. But then again, who wouldn't?


End file.
